Maureen’s Matters - ‘Portlethen Station would undoubtedly benefit’

Maureen Watt MSP

As residents of the North East, we are all too well aware of the travel chaos on our roads each working day.

That is why I supported increased rail services for Portlethen and why I was so delighted when in 2012 additional services were implemented.

The fact that there was an almost immediate passenger increase at the station of 46.8% showed that not only were we right to campaign for this, but that if you provide accessible public transport at sensible commuting times, then people will use it.

Yet, whilst this was a great success, facilities at the station have remained poor and I have been doing my utmost to encourage modernisation.

Thankfully, after much badgering, I received confirmation earlier this year from ScotRail that a ticket vending machine would be installed at the station, and I am delighted to now announce that this will be put in place in October.

The new, state-of-the-art ticket machine, will not only allow passengers to purchase their tickets prior to boarding, but will mean that tickets can be pre-booked on the ScotRail website and collected within two hours of booking.

This will undoubtedly make passenger journeys easier, and will hopefully lead to further usage of the station.

However, despite obtaining both increased services and a ticket machine, more can still be done.

Indeed, it is my view that Portlethen Station would undoubtedly benefit from an electronic customer information screen, and I will be striving to ensure that ScotRail delivers this over the coming weeks and months.